


Coming Home to Nest

by ElinorBlack



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Robin (Comics)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Found Family, Parent Bruce Wayne, Protective Bruce Wayne
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-22 15:26:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21304310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElinorBlack/pseuds/ElinorBlack
Summary: Jack Drake knew that his son was hiding something, he just never thought it could be something as big as a secret identity.This story follows the fallout of Jack discovering Tim is Robin and how this affects Tim’s relationship with those around him.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 61





	1. A discovery

Jack Drake knew he hadn't been a good father in the past, funny how your wife being poisoned and ending up in a coma for months can change someone’s perspective on life.

He had been through so much in the last year alone that Jack felt a need to be more present in his son’s life. No more sending him off to boarding school or hiring a nanny so he could spend months on an archaeological dig in some far off place. He would be here in Gotham. 

The problem was that after being absent for so much of Tim’s childhood, Jack was doubtful he knew who his son really was.

Tim seemed off. He appeared secretive, always sneaking out at night, checking his phone for God knows what. This was odd behaviour from Tim. At least Jack thinks it could be odd behaviour but before the coma, he would only be in Gotham for a few weeks at most, it felt like Tim was putting on an act. It scared Jack that Tim felt the need to hide from his own father.

He could only now see, that rather than a son greeting his father it was as if Tim was a host and Jack a guest in his own home, which was probably true. He didn't make time for Tim so now that he was actually putting in an effort he realised how little he truly knew about his son. During visits, Tim would have perfect manners and never spoke unless spoken to, often about the boy’s academic work rather than the boy himself.

Thinking on it did Jack know any of Tim’s hobbies or interests, Jack could vaguely remember Tim having a camera but he was unaware if he had used it, let alone seen any photographs he may have taken.

However, Jack had noticed that Tim did happen to be stronger and have more muscle than before when he questioned his son he said that he was trying out for the school football team. That was also why he had been out of the house more as he had been training.

Jack was fine with Tim playing football, however, it just didn't seem like the type of thing a boy like Tim would be into. As despite the increase in strength he was still on the scrawny side of things.

So Jack was suspicious, was he not supposed to be. This was Gotham, the most crime-infested city in America. With all of the strangeness surrounding Tim, he worried what his son could have gotten himself into.

Oh God, what if he was involved with some sort of gang.

*****

Tim heard the nose break as he kicked one of the gang members in the face. The gangs in Gotham had been getting a bit restless and there had been an uptake in gang violence. 

Tim and Bruce fought as partners, the other knowing exactly what move was going to be done leaving them able to not have to speak with the other. They worked seamlessly together, they were balanced. 

Thud. Crash. Crunch.

The sounds of the fight making what was almost a tune, as gang member after gang member was taken down.

Soon enough the criminals were incapacitated and Batman and Robin had rounded them up and left them zip-tied for the GCPD to find.

Batman and Robin found themselves on a rooftop overlooking the city sitting in comfortable silence, waiting for the next problem to appear.

That's the thing though isn't it, Tim thought. There would always be the next problem, the next criminal. It was a never-ending job being Robin but that didn't matter because even if at some times it felt pointless he knew that with every criminal taken off the street, and every victim saved, he had made a difference.

That's why Tim admired Bruce. He could have given up on Gotham after it took everything from him, but he didn't. Every night that Bruce donned the cowl and took to the streets he stopped others from feeling the same heartbreak as he did. He didn't even stop there, Wayne Enterprises hired ex-cons to stop them from going back to a life of crime, they had scholarships given to teens living in the Narrows, the Martha Wayne Foundation gave millions to help the children in the city.

Bruce had become such an important aspect of Tim’s life that he got to see the hero behind Batman’s mask. 

Bruce cared so deeply but most of Gotham didn't see past the Brucie Wayne persona that he so carefully played when in public, maybe because Bruce didn't want them to know how much Gotham had hurt him.

Tim can't do all the things that Bruce currently does. He is only fourteen. But right now for Tim being Robin is enough.

They spend the rest of the night as they always do, protecting Gotham City from itself.

*****

Jack Drake was in his son’s bedroom. Now he wasn't being nosy, just, concerned. I mean it was one in the morning and Tim wasn't in his bed, and well Jack had managed to plant the idea of Tim being involved in a gang in his head.

Tim was a smart kid, Jack needed to remember that he most likely wasn't involved with one of the many gangs in Gotham.

So he was just looking around Tim’s room hoping to find some sort of clue as to where his son could possibly be. His laptop was password-protected so there was no hope there as Jack was hit by the saddening thought that he didn't even know his son well enough to even attempt at a guess. 

Where on earth would Tim hide anything Jack thought to himself as he continued his investigation of Tim’s room. Even Tim’s room felt fake as it didn't seem to hold any essence of Tim’s character, the walls devoid of any pictures as Jack looked to see if there were any friends that Tim could currently be with. 

After searching the room for a quarter of an hour Jack determined that he was just being paranoid and that it was highly unlikely that Tim could be doing anything life-threatening at this moment in time.

Just as he was about to walk out the door he saw that Tim had left a pile of clean laundry on his desk so Jack thought the best course of action would be to help Tim by putting it in the wardrobe for him.

While Jack was putting the clothes away he accidentally dropped a hoodie that fell to the bottom of the wardrobe. As he picked it up it appeared that he had knocked a panel out of place but as he went to put the panel back in he noticed something metal glinting from the darkness.

He took the panel out and found the clues he needed to discover Tim’s secret. The piece of metal that had first caught his attention was what Jack assumed was a throwing star but in the shape of a bat. There were other weapons too, smoke pellets and a grappling gun, but the final piece of the puzzle, what made everything fall into place was the R shaped throwing star.

His son was Robin.

Jack couldn't decide if, this was worse than Tim being a gang but he considered that being Robin did make him involved with gangs and other worse characters. Jack could barely even think about the countless times he had seen reports of Batman and Robin being injured in some sort of fight, with the Joker alone.

Batman, Jack thought. His son knows who Batman is, he must do to be working so closely with him. 

Thoughts raced through his head as Jack searched the rest of the contents of Tim’s hidden stash, of who on earth could Batman possibly be. Then he found a photo. 

Jack had never seen his son so happy as he stood next to the taller man, his smile beaming at the camera as he had his hair ruffled. It made sense, who else in Gotham was rich enough to afford all the gadgets that Batman used, and he has a reason to want to protect the people of Gotham, but why did that man have to bring his son into his crusade.

Jack needed answers and he knew exactly where he could find them.

He needed to talk with Bruce Wayne.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apologies for the fact it has been nearly a year since I posted the first chapter to anyone who subscribed, I'm sorry.
> 
> But anyway guess who got past her writer's block for a tiny little issue which meant for some reason I felt incapable of writing any more.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter and I honestly hope it takes me less than a year to write the next one.

Let it be known that Jack Drake while not a violent man, was a practical one, which is why he owned a gun. He kept it locked in a safe in his study and another in a safe by his bedside, locked safely away out of Tim’s reach. Though with the new revelation Jack had had a gun probably wouldn’t make Tim bat an eyelid. 

So with the knowledge that he was about to confront Gotham’s dark knight, Jack ensured that he took a gun with him, nothing would stop him from protecting his son, not even The Bat himself.

Jack did not have a plan on how he was going to confront Wayne, all he knew was that he had to get his son away from him.

Jack gathered all the bravery he had and left for the short walk to Wayne manor.

*****

Tim was busy trying to clean the distinct smell of a Gotham alley out of his hair, one of the thugs had managed to get the drop on him and pushed him into a large puddle that smelled like it was only about twenty-five per cent water. Tim didn’t even want to think about what could be clinging to him all he wanted was to get to the nice warm shower waiting for him.

After a quick debrief and change of clothes Bruce who was lucky enough to avoid the puddle of doom had gone upstairs to make some tea to help warm Tim up, Alfred would have made a better cup but with the man visiting family in England Bruce’s far too milky tea would have to do.

Tim was proud of the work they had done tonight in addition to busting a major drug deal they had rescued innocent Gothamites from the average thug, and while Tim was proud of this work he and Bruce did, the moments where he smelled like something that belonged in a sewer weren’t some of his finer moments as Robin.

After prying himself out of his uniform, Tim made his way to the showers to at least attempt to get rid of the awful smell clinging to his body, Tim hoped that he would get rid of it as he didn’t think he could use football practise as an excuse for smelling this bad to his dad.

*****

Bruce made his way to the kitchen to prepare a hot drink to warm Tim up as the poor boy had gone flying into some rather unpleasant water and Bruce had learned that the best remedy for a night like this was some hot chocolate.

As Bruce put the water on the stove for his own tea he heard someone moving, he couldn’t see them from where he stood in the kitchen but Bruce was quickly on alert, grabbing one of the kitchen knives he slowly made his way to the kitchen door and was met with a gun to the face.

“Where is my son?”

This was worse than Bruce could have imagined, he could handle a burglar, but a clearly emotional Jack Drake was a situation that could go any number of ways. Bruce’s main concern was currently the gun, he needed to get it off of Jack, preferably before Tim appeared from the cave.

“Jack let’s be civilised about this, put the gun down, please. The last thing Tim needs is his father to be a murderer.” Bruce said, attempting to calm Jack down.

“You don’t get to tell me what my son needs, not after what you’ve done, after everything you put him through!” Jack snarled at Bruce. “Why Tim? Why have you targeted my family, he’s already gone through so much and you think it’s acceptable to send my son out to fight monsters like the Joker, it’s disgusting.”

The penny dropped for Bruce, Jack Drake knew his secret, knew Tim’s secret. Bruce was in uncertain territory now, with Dick and Jay he had been the guardian, he had never had to deal with a distressed parent that was blaming him for endangering their child, and a scared parent was more dangerous than the majority of criminals Bruce faced on a daily basis.

Bruce needed to act fast as he didn’t know how long it would be until Tim appeared in the kitchen, and unfortunately, Tim could be incredibly efficient and while useful when gearing up for an emergency but not when Bruce needed to deescalate the situation before Tim could see this version of his father. 

Bruce brought his hands up to give Jack the impression of surrender while still analysing the situation and the best way to react if Jack did fire the gun, Bruce was unaware if Jack was capable of doing such a thing, but he knew that some parents would do anything to protect their child.

“Jack I know you want an explanation, and I will explain everything but first put the gun down, please.” Bruce calmly asked.

“Why should I listen to anything you have to say, you put Tim at risk, you allow him to go out there and face dangerous criminals who are more than willing to hurt him!” yelled Jack. 

“You know who I am, you understand what I am capable of, if I wanted to I could disarm you, but do you think Tim would want the two of us to fight. I’m not going to hurt you, Jack.” 

“And why should I believe you?”

“Because I wouldn’t do that to Tim,” Bruce said sincerely “You mean too much to him.”

Jack paused, lowering the gun and with some hesitation, he emptied the barrel and placed the bullets on the counter next to him.

“Fine, but I’m only doing this to not hurt Tim.” Jack declared, “Now let’s have that discussion, I want to know everything.”

While relieved that Jack had set down his weapon Bruce was far from relaxed, this could be disastrous, for everyone in the family. His main concern was Tim, the boy rarely spoke of his father and Bruce knew their relationship was not close, him being Robin had only caused the divide to grow.

Before Bruce could reply the sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts, behind Jack Tim appeared with wet hair and in an oversized sweatshirt that had belonged to Bruce at one point. Bruce could see the shock on Tim’s face as he froze studying the scene in front of him, his eyes wandered from the empty gun in his father’s hand to Bruce.

Jack’s eyes had not been drawn from their intense stare aimed at Bruce, so he was yet to notice the presence of his son behind him.

“Dad,” Tim asked as Jack tensed in surprise.


End file.
